By John Francis,
Bruce Peninsula Press
“The Restaurant Host Is Suddenly at the Front of the Covid Wars,” proclaims a story in the New York Times. “I have been screamed at. I have had fingers in my face. I have been called names. I have had something thrown at me,” a young hostess from Houston tells the interviewer.
Are things that bad on the Bruce Peninsula? And how will the COVID vaccine passport requirements affect the restaurant business? We asked several of our community’s longtime restaurateurs about their experiences.
Monty Brown at Lion’s Head Inn was delighted after the first day of vaccine passport requirements. “The first afternoon, every guest at every single table thanked us for going through this.”
But things are not always that sunny. Over the last year and a half, he has had a lot of customers through his restaurant. “99% of the people are fantastic but every week we get a few who expect us to break the rules because they don’t want to follow them.” He continues: every now and again you get “people who aren’t coming to eat — they just want to be turned down and get into a confrontation and put on a show.”
Will the passport system change things? Brown expects that “the passports will have a big effect on us… not on our process but on how busy we are, who will come to my restaurant and the comfort level of my staff.”
In the first couple of days of passport requirements, people who didn’t have passports could just sit outside and eat, “but I guarantee you that the first day it’s too miserable to sit outside, we’ll have confrontations.” Brown worries for his staff: “I need protocols that make them feel comfortable, because if they’re not comfortable, they can’t make guests feel comfortable.”
room to make a living? Yes, he says. “We can seat 26 indoors, which is enough for the winter, enough to keep my staff working so I don’t have to lay them off.”
Roberta Mielhausen at Bear Tracks Restaurant in Ferndale also had good experiences on the first day of the vaccine passport requirements: “Most people are prepared and the few people that have forgotten to bring it have cooperatively eaten on the patio or ordered takeout. We have increased staff so there is always someone readily available to meet patrons at the door. We have not seen a decrease in business. We are serving more local seniors. The atmosphere is relaxed.”
Mielhausen says the confrontations began when the vaccine passport was first announced: “Pushback to the new rules started on a busy Labour Day Sunday for us. Phone calls began that day asking if we would be implementing the Vaccine Passport rules. We simply answered “we will abide by all direction from Public Health as we always do”. This simple answer catapulted people to threaten to sue us, and sparked our business being slandererd in various Anti Vax Facebook Groups. It all became quite stressful for the wait staff leading up to the implementation date as customers within the restaurant began also voicing their opinions. Since the implementation it has been 100% stress free.”
Going forward, Mielhausen’s main concerns are about the details of the vaccine passport system. Will the QR code system be too confusing? What will happen with kids who are too young to have photo ID? Other than that — and of course, concern about another lockdown — she is confident that her restaurant will continue to thrive.
Anna Roussakis, restaurant manager at the Princess Hotel in Tobermory, says the first couple of days of the vaccine passport system “have been pretty smooth. People have their passport out when they come in. It hasn’t been a problem. Yet.” She thinks about it for a couple of seconds and continues “We know they’re out there — but they haven’t arrived. Yet.” In fact, there hasn’t been any pushback at all in the first three days.
The Princess staff are not really apprehensive about confrontations — “the manager can handle them,” Roussakis says. You just deal with it, case by case. Masks were a big deal last year, but not this year; it will be the same with passports — we’ll have some trouble in the next while but by next year it will be a non-issue. No passport — no sit-down. It’s a government mandate. We’re not rebelling, just enforcing.
Did she notice a difference between 2020 and 2021? Yes. It was so rainy this summer that inside dining was crucial. Last year it was so sunny that outside was fine. Customers are a little different this year too — “People are more short-tempered this year, cooped up for a long time. They’re tired of standing in lines; used to it, but tired.” On the positive side, she has noticed that “people are much more interested in nature which is a big positive for us. COVID has actually been good for Tobermory.”
Roussakis says the Princess is quite fortunate; they are not seriously affected by COVID seating restrictions. “Normally we seat 90 to 100, now it’s 45 to 50. But that’s still a good sized restaurant and manageable for the staff I have.”
She expects that vaccine passport system to be in place for three to five years, but that it will become part of daily routine.
Alison Wright at the Crowsnest Pub in Tobermory is not concerned about the vaccine passport system. “We have signs up at both entranceways, but no dedicated staff. Most people have their passports ready; just a handful we have had to ask. They’ve been civil so far, but it’s only day two.” She is a bit surprised that there has been no pushback at all. Her employees are quite pleased about that.
Was 2021 different from 2020? Yes — people were nicer about the restrictions this year and much more compliant.
As usual, Crowsnest will close for the season after Thanksgiving.
Gaynor Horn at Katemma’s Diner in Pike Bay says her restaurant is not affected by the vaccine passports because she is not going to go back to indoor dining. COVID regulations drop her seating capacity to 12 people and that’s just not enough to make it worthwhile. So it will remain takeout only — no passports required, everybody wears a mask “and if they get testy I just send them back outside”.
But without sit-down dining, Katemma’s will close for the season on Oct 31. “All the businesses on the peninsula are going to have to take a real hard look next year and decide — what are we gonna do?”
